The strong suspicion here was that the Regina Pats were unlikely to be major players on or before the WHL’s trading deadline.

That theory, however, unravelled faster than the Cincinnati Bengals.

Just after the deadline passed on Sunday, the Pats announced that they had acquired Cole Sanford — a 50-goal scorer last season — from the Medicine Hat Tigers for an assortment of players and bantam-draft picks.

Within seconds, a half-completed column on the NFL playoffs was ashcanned. Turning to hockey …

The Pats turned heads with the deal, considering that a team with an 18-18-3-3 record doesn’t ordinarily acquire one of the major-junior circuit’s elite snipers.

Sanford, it was presumed, would end up with an unquestioned championship contender — or perhaps with the Red Deer Rebels, who are the host team for this year’s Memorial Cup.

John Paddock had other ideas. The Pats’ head coach, general manager and senior vice-president of hockey operations coveted Sanford to the extent that forwards Brian Williams, 20, and Gary Haden, a 16-year-old prospect, were sent to Medicine Hat along with three draft picks — a second-rounder in 2018, a third-rounder in 2016 and a fifth-rounder in 2017.

The transaction ranked as a surprise in that so many of the Paddock-led Pats’ moves have been geared toward the future. However, Paddock was able to consummate the trade without taking a serious bite out of the team’s youthful and talented nucleus. And, in the short term, there is every reason for Pats fans to be upbeat.

“It should be exciting for everybody,” Paddock said Sunday. “I know that our players are excited. I know that our ownership’s excited. I’ve kept Todd (Lumbard, the Pats’ president) informed on this. I think our fans should be excited.

“We’re into real hockey season now. There’s nothing to distract them. We’ve got a young team, but we’ve got a good, young team. Let’s take a look at them. We’re going to play exciting hockey and we added a really exciting player.”

At an affordable cost, to boot.

In making the trade, Paddock considered the team’s future interests while being mindful of short-term imperatives.

The Pats, after all, are in the entertainment business. There is also a limited window in which they can dominate the local sporting landscape, given the all-consuming interest in the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

In order to prevent people from obsessing about Chris Jones, John Murphy, Darian Durant, Weston Dressler, et al, the Pats need to do that little extra to create a buzz.

Watch for Sanford to be buzzing around the opposition’s net — in collaboration with sublimely skilled centre Sam Steel.

The Brandt Centre has never looked better, thanks in large part to improvements financed by the Anthony Marquart-led ownership quintet. A new scoreboard and upgraded lighting were installed last year. A new approach has engendered optimism about the future.

Yet, there are still tickets to sell, and people aren’t exactly storming the turnstiles to attend Pats home games.

Offence sells tickets. The addition of Sanford should be beneficial in terms of the bottom line.

Consider, too, that a dynamic defenceman named Colby Williams is expected to return to the lineup in mid-February after recovering from wrist surgery he underwent last week. Williams, like Sanford, should give the Pats an infusion of experience and explosiveness.

Will those additions magically transform the 2015-16 Pats into a Memorial Cup contender? That is doubtful.

But the trade for Sanford, combined with the eventual reactivation of Williams, should make an already-entertaining Pats team even better to watch.

“When you add a 50-goal scorer, you can’t help but be excited,” Paddock said. “Now he’s got to produce. (His teammates) have to produce. Nothing changes. But it’s a good feeling. It should be exciting for our fans and the community.”

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Moe, Scheer and their ilk readily stoke anger over trumped-up complaints about any policy choice which isn’t fully subservient to corporate polluters, making patently flawed demands alongside false claims of public support. And they have no scruples about joining forces with racist groups in the process, even as they disclaim responsibility for that connection, writes columnist Greg Fingas.